Winter 2005-06
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Letter from the ED
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense.” Dwight Eisenhower It’s 2006, and the IRC has good news and bad news. Let’s focus, for a change, on the good news, to start off the New Year on the right foot. (For the bad news, all you have to do is turn on your television.) The good news is that people around the world are standing up for their rights and their beliefs, and in many cases they are winning—or at least making progress. For example, workers in a ceramics factory in Argentina stood together against corrupt management, and the factory was shut down. Until the workers took operations into their own hands. Now every employee has a say in management decisions. Production is up and accidents are nearly non-existent, as opposed to almost daily under previous owners. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been reinvested in equipment and operations. And the commitment to community is inspiring. As the community supported the workers in their long effort to recuperate the factory, today the factory supports the community through a wide range of donations and shared projects. The whole story, “Another World is Possible: The Ceramics of Zanon,” by Raúl Zibechi, is available on our Americas Program site and has the potential to serve as a blueprint. In Bolivia for the first time in history an indigenous politician, Evo Morales, has been elected president. His government marks a symbolic end to centuries of colonial control in that nation and his platform of indigenous rights, national control of natural resources, and benefits for the poor represents hope for millions. From an activist point of view, it is a moving example of the changes a people united can bring about. Foreign Policy In Focus analyst Ronald Bruce St John elaborates on the implications of the Morales victory in “Evo Morales No Che Guevara.” At the Sixth Ministerial of the World Trade Organization in Hong Kong, thousands of people from throughout the world joined together to share alternatives to the advance of corporate-led trade liberalization and breeched police barricades to make their voices heard. What constitutes victory is sometimes relative; the victory in this case was the endurance, the bravery, the conviction of so many people who faced seemingly insurmountable odds to defend the rights of the most vulnerable in their societies. Laura Carlsen of the IRC Americas Program was there. Her chronicle and analysis are available at: http://americas.irc-online.org/. Here at home the news is mixed. With the passage of the Sensenbrenner bill and recent deaths on the border, the nation has been plunged deeper into a debate on immigration. Here in the Southwest this debate is far from theoretical; the volatile mix of political special interests, the contradictions of economic integration, racism, and border control are reflected in daily life and point to the urgent need for legislative and bilateral solutions. IRC Policy Director Tom Barry writes about these issues in “‘Common Sense’ Immigration Reform—What’s FAIR got to do with it?” Nationally, scandal permeates the White House and the administration is walking on very thin ice (no global warming pun intended). Although the political climate is tumultuous at best, the good news is that some truth is seeping through from the rose-colored mass media. The outcome may be uncertain at the moment, but the outlook can be construed as optimistic. Faith in the government is hitting all-time lows as evidence of corruption grows, the war in Iraq becomes more and more costly, and old justifications fall away. (See “Iraq in Focus,” for related articles.) As the public reexamines the policies that brought the nation to this low point, the pressing need for a collective effort to re-envision foreign policy emerges. That’s a process the IRC has been dedicated to for the past 25 years. Your continued support enables the IRC to help frame and build the move toward more responsible action in our world. The experience of our staff, the diversity and acuity of our contributors worldwide, and the daily commitment to change of so many of our readers positions us to contribute positively in marking a new course for U.S. foreign policy, a course guided by the principles of a global good neighbor. We urge you to join us in this effort. Sincerely, Debra Preusch
IRC Good Neighbors
California, Here We Come … The International Relations Center will be heading to the San Francisco Film Centre in early February to celebrate our 25th Anniversary and newest initiative: IRC’s Global Good Neighbor. We will be awarding Global Good Neighbor commendations to former diplomat Ann Wright for her deeds opposing the war in Iraq, and to the City and County of San Francisco for supporting the nation’s most rigorous fair trade ordinance. By their words and deeds, they uphold the spirit and the letter of the Global Good Neighbor Ethic for International Relations.
IRC News
Immigration Reform: A Work in Progress Tom Barry was one of a selected group of national strategists on immigration issues who attended a forum in Washington, DC on January 13 sponsored by Enlaces America. The subject of this “analytical and work strategies exchange forum” was “Immigrant Rights and Just Immigration Reform at a Crossroad.” The IRC has also recently produced a packet of immigration-related articles and resources, “Reframing the Immigration Debate: The Actors and the Issues,” online at http://americas.irc-online.org/am/2959. New Thinking on Foreign Policy John Gershman was part of the design team for the Ford Foundation-sponsored Laboratory for New Thinking on U.S. Foreign Policy from Jan 17-19 at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. The conference brought together about 100 Ford grantees to explore new thinking on issues relating to the impact of U.S. foreign policy on U.S. democratic institutions and values as well as the challenges facing efforts to democratize the foreign policy process. John was the author of the concept paper for the laboratory, which will be appearing soon in a slightly revised form as an FPIF discussion paper. Win a Prize, Just for Being You This is your heads-up for an exciting new contest. Have you or someone you know used IRC materials as a catalyst for change? Have we provided you with the documentation or inspiration you needed to take action? If so, we want to know about it. Beginning with our next issue of the IRC Insider, we will be running a contest to find out the ways, big or small, that you have used the IRC to make a difference in your life and your world. We want to know better what works for you and to help others with ideas on how IRC information and analysis can be put to action to make changes in their own communities. Start collecting your anecdotes now, but don’t send them yet, as contest rules and prizes are still to be determined. Watch for details! Resistance and Repression When the world’s nations gathered in Hong Kong for the Sixth Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization, Laura Carlsen, director of the IRC Americas Program, was there to cover the events and take part in the analysis on development-oriented alternatives. The events of December 17th, the day of the farmers’ march in Hong Kong, reflected the lines drawn between two versions of the future: “By late afternoon the marchers have ascended a bridge that crosses the highway and leads to the Convention Center. … The front line moves to the base of the bridge and suddenly a victory cry is heard. Simultaneously, an explosion sounds and a cloud of gas fills the air. … The next day the papers say that more than 20 canisters of tear gas were released in the same place at almost the same time. … Many people are still vomiting and coughing, but slowly the marchers begin to recover. … In the meantime, the police have retaken half the bridge. … It seems they have executed their master plan and it worked—who would confront something like that again? The answer is: most everyone. The march reconstructs itself and returns to its position on the bridge.” Read “WTO Staves off Crisis but Fails to Resolve Contradictions,” “Chronicle of the International Farmers’ March,” and related articles on the WTO meeting on the Americas website at http://americas.irc-online.org/.
IRC VIP
IRC VIP: Merle Krause Remember 1990? George H. W. Bush was president. East and West Germany were reunited. Apartheid ended in South Africa. The World Wide Web was just a gleam in someone’s digital eye. And the IRC was still a youngster, reaching out to its forward-thinking audience via the ancient medium of books and newsletters. It was in that eventful year that Merle Krause first discovered the IRC. “I read everything I can get my hands on, books that is,” he said, a fortuitous inclination from IRC’s point of view. Merle says he thinks he was reading a book by Noam Chomsky, MIT professor, outspoken intellectual, prolific author, and member of IRC’s board of directors since the beginning. In the book, Noam mentioned the IRC (Interhemispheric Resource Center back then), and got Merle interested in the organization. He’s been a loyal supporter ever since. A farmer and family man hailing from the Sunflower state, Merle reminisces fondly of his life in Kansas: “I went to Kansas State and got a degree in engineering. After college I started farming, in 1954. My dad had a farm; I guess I thought it was what I was supposed to do.” Is he retired now? “Not if I can help it … I help my son with the planting and harvesting.” He also can’t help but mention that he and his wife Phyllis have five granddaughters and two great-granddaughters, and it’s easy to hear the pride and joy in his voice as he speaks. Merle maintains a progressive perspective in the midst of mid-American conservatism by reading several magazines and newspapers of low national circulation. Then there is the nearby Scott Co. Record to balance Kansas politics, “and of course IRC is very good on global affairs.” “I’m particularly interested in this new thing you’re promoting,” Merle says, referring to IRC’s Global Good Neighbor (GGN) initiative. GGN is inspired by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s vision of international relations guided by mutual respect and cooperation. Ours is a vision that is grounded in the belief that U.S. citizens should be active participants in the formation of a new foreign policy. Merle’s own mode of active participation includes keeping himself informed and involved. “I donate to about half a dozen political organizations, but the IRC is one of the most significant to me.” We at IRC would like to express our gratitude to Merle Krause for his time, his loyal support, and his concern for our global neighborhood.
Office Contact Information
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